Recent storms have had an immense impact on private-sector planning and construction opportunities in many states. So far this year, the United States has incurred more than $7 billion in damages from floods, and that is less than half of the total damages resulting from weather incidents.
Winter storms, heavy spring rains, tornadoes and damaging hail have all contributed to destruction. In Houston, rain was so heavy and damages so great, newly elected Mayor Sylvester Turner named a “flood czar” who will be responsible for designing and implementing solutions to mitigate flood risks. For states with limited or dated stormwater infrastructure, even moderate rainfall can wreak havoc on communities.
Photo of rain garden by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources licensed under CC BY 2.0
This is evident in cities like Columbus, Ohio, where a recently approved $1 billion budget allocates more than $600 million to sewer and stormwater-related projects. Since 2004, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has pressured the city to improve its wastewater and stormwater infrastructure because it has become common for pollution to wash into waterways during heavy rainstorms. The current infrastructure in Columbus, underground pipes that carry sewage to treatment facilities, is especially vulnerable and can float waste into rivers and creeks.
Columbus’ solution, called Blueprint Columbus, will cost more than $2 billion as the city constructs rain gardens and other environmentally friendly solutions to restrain rain water. However, the plan’s use of green infrastructure will save the city $1 billion, and that is much better than the original plan to just install larger pipes. The improvements are coming at a great time because Ohio’s population is expected to increase by more than 500,000 by 2050.
A program called the City Accelerator program is helping planners in St. Paul, Minn., as they evaluate options for stormwater infrastructure. The City Accelerator program, a $3 million endowment, is supported by the Living Cities collaborative and the Citi Foundation. Its purpose is to help cities become innovative in planning and financing stormwater infrastructure enhancements. St. Paul will receive a grant of $100,000 for the research. Other cities, including Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are also participating in similar endeavors.
In Prince George’s County, Md., local officials are promoting a public-private partnership (P3/PPP) to reduce pollution from stormwater runoff by retrofitting pavement and buildings with green landscape features. County leaders want to improve the environment in and around Chesapeake Bay and reduce stormwater runoff, a significant cause of pollution. Since much of the county lies inside the Capital Beltway, the costs will be high. If everything works as planned though, a public-private-partnership will provide complete retrofitting services for more than 17,000 acres of land. In exchange, the private-sector partner will operate the stormwater system for 30 years.
This year’s El Niño is currently tied with 1997-1998 as the strongest one on record. With storms causing crippling freezes and massive floods, innovative solutions are in high demand.